If the pursuit of productivity is making you miserable, maybe it’s time to rethink it altogether.

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Introduction

🧠 About This Guide

🧪 Taking an Experimental Approach

🔖 One Step at a Time

1. Being With Burnout

🔋 Tending to Your Energy

⚡ Soothing vs Enlivening Activities

2. Creating a Second Brain

📌 Creating a Task Management System

🔧 Tools That Support Task Management

3. Bringing Back Structure

⏰ Designing Neuro-Affirming Routines

🖇️ Creating Flexible Structure

🤝 Gentle Accountability: Solo vs Shared

Conclusion

🌊 Flow Over Force

⚓ Ditch Productivity, Embrace Presence

⛑️ Crisis Resources

🧠 About This Guide

A lot of neurodivergent folks believe that when we’re deeply struggling, it’s because we did something “wrong.”

We treat burnout like a problem to diagnose, and then attempt to fix it with new tools or systems, rather than approaching it as an opportunity to build a life that is more sustainable, authentic, and even joyful.

For me, it wasn’t just my tools that needed to be revisited when I crashed out. It was my relationship to myself, to my body, to my resources, and examining the beliefs I had attached to all of those things.

Now, instead of setting a goal of “fixing” myself — basically as a way to become more productive in a capitalistic society — I’ve reframed it.

Whenever I feel myself teetering toward burnout, I know to refocus on making my day-to-day experience of pursuing what matters (whether we call that our goals, tasks, whatever!) feel good for me.

Feeling good while we tackle our day often comes down to three emotional experiences:

• Feeling energized (I’m interested enough to move toward something)
• Feeling clarity (I know more or less the direction to move in)
• Feeling supported (I have what I need to tolerate overwhelm and uncertainty)

In my experience, what prevents us from feeling energized is usually a disconnect from what motivates, excites, connects, or inspires us.

And what tends to get in the way of clarity is disorganization and dysregulation, which suggests a lack of flexible and supportive structure.

I’ve written this guide to include overarching strategies — as well as several tools you can mix and match — to invent your own approach to burnout.

(And if it feels intimidating to do alone, remember there are therapists — and affirming coaches, like me! — who can guide you through this process.)

🧪 Commit to an experimentaL MINDSET

What is an experimental mindset? Basically, think of yourself as tinkering in a lab, or like a chef trying out new recipes, as you start to shift out of burnout.

Since many of you reading this have ADHD, I like to point out that we ADHDers love novelty and newness. (Frankly, most humans do regardless!)

An experimental mindset is a great way to “hack” your neurotype: use the novelty and newness you’ll encounter as a way to keeping yourself engaged with this process.

Tips for an Experimental Mindset

1. Everything is information: When you try something new, think of the result not as a success or failure (nor yourself as one!). This is simply a process of gathering information about the current season you’re in that you can then use to tweak your approach.
2. Shame is unhelpful: You don’t need to operate based in shame (i.e., I’m a bad employee, partner, parent, person, etc). Your struggles don’t define who you are and what you’re capable of — those are old stories! Accept your shame as evidence that you care and want to do better, and keep your eyes on the road ahead.
3. Meet fear with curiosity and compassion: When you notice fear (I can’t, this didn’t work before, I suck at this), try shifting toward curiosity (I wonder what will happen? What if this time might be different?) and compassion (I deserve support and I deserve to feel better, even if it takes time to unlock what works for me).

And remember, each and every day is a reset button! You don’t need to attach anything to how yesterday went, because you have a new day in front of you.

🔖 So this Guide is pretty long…

As someone who struggles to focus, I get that lengthy articles can be intimidating.

With that in mind, I highly suggest bookmarking this article, and tackling these suggestions on a timetable that makes sense for you.

I’ve also broken the piece down with headings and formatting that will help make it more readable.

If there’s any small change you can make to offer yourself a tiny bit more comfort as you go, I encourage you to give that a try, too! If you’re unsure, here’s some joyful Studio Ghibli music on Youtube for some positive vibes. 🌷

→ Okay, sounds good! Take me back to the Table of Contents so I can bookmark this for later.

Or, keep scrolling to continue to the next section!

🔋 Energy: The Building Blocks For Moving Out of Burnout

You can have all the systems, strategies, and tools in the world, but if you’re burnt out, it can feel too abstract or even pointless.

With burnout, the reality is, the most optimally designed, neuro-affirming system in the universe may not be enough to get you back into motion.

And that can create a sense of panic, because burnout can make us feel out of control, whereas systems and tools can give us an illusion of self-mastery.

It’s okay to take a moment to grieve that sense of “free fall” — to feel disappointed, frustrated, sad, scared, or even annoyed at the paradox of feeling stuck and out of control at the same time.

If it helps to know, I’ve been there. After losing my job, I shut down so severely that my health began to suffer and my inner light was snuffed out.

I was lucky to have a coach who, noticing that the one thing that gave me any shred of energy was dreaming about relaunching my blog, encouraged me to lean into my interests, even if I didn’t have a plan for the long term.

It felt counterintuitive, because I was so stressed about money. But it’s important that when we’re burnt out, we don’t forget that recharging can look many different ways.

The path to moving through burnout is often framed in popular culture as a need for rest, but “rest” isn’t always just nesting in bed and reducing demands (though for some folks, it starts that way!).

Instead, we need to remember what the opposite of burnout really is: Vitality! It’s excitement, connection, play, creativity.

Nurturing our creativity, interests, relationships, and imagination can be a super highway out of burnout when we don’t judge ourselves for it.

Following those flickers when they start to appear is crucial for getting our vitality back.

Balancing those flickers with the stuff that grounds us is what allows us to build momentum more sustainably, rather than crashing again when we devote our entire attention span to that project or hobby without taking care of ourselves.

To wrap your head around this, I like to use the distinction between soothing and enlivening activities.

⚡ Soothing vs Enlivening Activities

A combination of soothing activities (things that calm us and bring us back to baseline) and enlivening activities (things that energize, excite, absorb, and uplift us) can often help reignite our inner flame.

This is a somatic framework I learned from the book Slow Pleasure by Euphemia Russel, and it was a game changer for me.

You may start with soothing activities, but pay close attention to those wandering thoughts, daydreams, and tiny sparks that suggest your interest may be coming back online.

Remember that sometimes the motivation we’re looking for actually kicks in a few minutes after we’ve started doing the thing. So don’t wait for the heat of motivation — follow the spark of a daydream, random impulse, or weird idea.

🧙🏻‍♂️ Your (optional) side quest: Create a short list of soothing activities (how you chill) and another of enlivening activities (what hypes you up).

If you’re stuck, look for inspiration first! You could learn about different types of hobbies, different types of rest, and self-care routines.

Or, try asking other people how they recharge, whether that’s people you know or folks on social media.

Once you’ve given yourself some time to experiment with soothing and enlivening activities, you might move into the next section.

We’ll be talking about how to untangle the knot that forms in your brain when you have too many “mental tabs” open, by creating what’s called a “second brain.”

But remember, burnout recovery isn’t a race! So take breaks from this guide if and when you need to.

📌 Clarity: Creating a “Second Brain” to Reduce Mental Clutter

Part of what leads to overwhelm and shutdown is the cognitive burden of how much information we’re trying to remember, organize, and plan around on a daily basis.

This is why having some kind of task management system is so, so important.

You can think of a task management system kind of like a “second brain.”

It can hold all of your to-do items, any pop-up thoughts or ideas you might lose track of, and reminders for appointments, obligations, and even intentions.

We can use task management tools to outsource the remembering, organizing, and even planning parts.

This relates back to something you’ve probably heard of, called executive function, which is something ADHDers often find challenging.

How will I know what system is right for me?

Here are some questions to consider:

• What tools am I already familiar with that feel intuitive or simple to use? What did I like about them?
• For the tools I’ve used before, do I remember why I stopped using them? Are there small changes I can make to make those tools more enticing or useful to me again?
• If you notice yourself pulled toward trying something entirely new, harness that energy! Go with the flow, and let your curiosity about a new system get you into motion again.

The truth is, you won’t know what works for you right now until you try, and what works in one season of our lives may not work in the next — that’s okay!

Remember: It’s all information, so focus on what you can learn rather than what you can “fix.”

🧙🏻‍♂️ Your (optional) side quest: Set a timer for ten minutes and make a list of the areas in your life that feel the most chaotic or overwhelming. You don’t need to fix them or change them, just name them. Practice being with the hairy anxiety for this set amount of time.

When the time is up, plan for aftercare — a distraction, a soothing tool, a playlist to dance to, anything to redirect you.

When you’re ready for the next step below, have your list at the ready.

The nervous energy you feel encountering it again is your best friend. You now know you can survive it! So this time, you’ll redirect that energy. Let that surge of “get this off my back!” motivate you to engage with a tool that can hold it, so you no longer have to.

🔧 Task Management Tools to Try

I’ve rounded up some different options, organizing them from simple to complex, and digital or paper-based.

These categories are very subjective, but hopefully align with most folks’ expectations around what is simple (can be picked up and used pretty quickly) versus complex (has a learning curve or requires more effort to use).

⚠️ Affiliate links ahead! This section of the post includes links that, if you purchase through them, may result in a small commission that I reinvest in the blog. But I won’t promote just anything — I’d encourage you to learn more about my affiliate and promotion policy here.

Digital Tools

Fairly Simple

😰 Reduce Overwhelm: Magic ToDo (Goblin Tools)

I just want a to-do list to start with. Maybe something that helps me break my tasks down into smaller parts, so they feel more manageable.

📅 Improve Time Management Skills: Sunsama

I tend to approach things one day at a time. I’d rather have a planning app that helps me manage my time more effectively each day, maybe with some intention-setting for the week, but without zooming out too much.

🧘 Clear Mental Clutter: Todoist

I want a system that allows me to have multiple projects at once, so I can organize my different areas of life, but still doesn’t feel overly complicated to set up and use.

More Complex

🛼 Increase Novelty: Amazing Marvin

I want something that’s super customizable, with lots of different tools built in so I can create the system of my dreams. Give me all the bells and whistles — novelty is fun!

🧠 Versatility is King: Notion

I live for options, but without so much work! Sometimes I want one system for everything, and in other seasons I need multiple tools for different areas of my life, so I need something that I can reset again if needed. It would be really awesome if I could “download” someone else’s system to try first, rather than having to build everything myself.

Paper-Based Tools

Fairly Simple

👀 Stay Laser-Focused: Productivity Planner Cards (Intelligent Change)

I want my top priorities every day right in my face, so I don’t lose track of them or get derailed. The only day that really matters to me is today, so I want a tool that keeps my focus on what’s in front of me (literally and metaphorically).

⭐ Prioritize Efficiently: Productivity Planner (Intelligent Change)

I want to become better at identifying what tasks matter most and managing my time accordingly. Sometimes I need to look at a week’s view, but mostly, I’m just focused on today.

Our friends at Intelligent Change gave us a discount! Use code “SAMDF10” to get 10% off your entire purchase.

More Complex

📓 Organize My Whole Life: Bullet Journal

I want one notebook to rule them all. I don’t want my different areas of life completely separate — they can be in different sections, but I want everything in one place, customized to my liking.

⚡ Plan Creatively: Fast Brain Daily Productivity Planner (Creator’s Friend)

I want a planner, but one that balances variety with structure! Being offered new spreads and ways to organize my tasks will keep me engaged, but I still need the predictable structure of a planner to make sure I’m not totally lost.

Neat Tools, Sam, But What Do I Do Now?

🧙🏻‍♂️ Your (optional) side quest: Start with that nervous energy that comes up when you consider getting organized — the emotion is not going to hurt you. Allow the overwhelm of how much you’re holding to pass over you like a wave.

Shift your attention to playing with one of the tools above. Focus on how it feels to approach something new that could support you in all that you’ve been carrying.

Look for flickers of excitement, interest, relief, creativity, or focus. Allow yourself to get absorbed if that’s how you tend to work!

If you instead feel resistant, tired, sad, or frustrated, and the feeling doesn’t pass, take it as information. Think about what didn’t work and why, so you can try another tool that is more aligned to where you currently are!

You may need to return to this step a few times. That’s okay. Keep going!

Now that you’re starting to get back into motion — where the pendulum of emotion and energy is starting to swing — you’ll want to look for adding support that keeps the pendulum coming back to center.

So, we’re talking about care tasks (keeping your body nourished and supported) and life admin (the stuff that allows us to navigate the world as it currently exists).

⏰ Support: Creating Structure That Supports Your Baseline

Feeling supported and regulated as we move out of burnout is crucial for ensuring we don’t slide back there again.

This usually involves some amount of structure and accountability.

However, a lot of us may wince at words like “structure” and “accountability” because we equate them with restriction and punishment.

That makes sense — at least here in the West, those words are often used pretty synonymously.

It can help to think of flexible structure as being more similar to the bumpers that you might see used at a bowling alley (bear with me!).

These are essentially rails that help guide the bowling ball down the lane, so that it doesn’t get stuck in the gutter but can still freely move within the lane.

Structure for a neurodivergent brain works very similarly! These are guardrails that help ensure our distractions don’t end up overtaking the goals that are important to us that day.

Structure also helps ensure that our baseline needs (like food, rest, and connection) are still being met consistently enough.

Similarly, accountability is not about forcing ourselves to do something by threat of another person supervising or watching.

Instead, gentle accountability can be helpful because we feel emotionally supported and connected, while being part of a shared effort or process, which can be motivating for some folks, too.

Both flexible structure and gentle accountability can help us manage feelings of overwhelm by creating a container in which we feel a sense of direction, connection, and even purpose.

🖇️ How to Create Flexible Structure

Generally speaking, the goal of flexible structure is to help you maintain your baseline (food, hydration, rest, connection) and tackle your non-negotiable tasks (so, the things you need to do).

This happens through things like reminders, rewards, and sometimes, direction (either through instruction or suggestion).

Reminders, Rewards, and Direction:

• Reminders help us keep front of mind the things we need to do.
• Rewards make those things more exciting and enjoyable to do.
• Direction helps us puzzle through how we’re going to get those things done, either by instruction or suggestion.

Reminders

Reminders helps resurface basic information that we need to remember, like when we intended to eat lunch, or that we need to leave the house in 15 minutes.

However, reminders by themselves often don’t work for neurodivergent people, or really, anyone coming out of burnout.

They usually need to be paired with another kind of support! This is why so many of us feel annoyed by traditional productivity advice — they overhype the usefulness of reminders, which doesn’t map to how burnout and overwhelm are actually experienced in the body.

Examples of Reminders

• Alarms, widgets, apps, or notifications on your phone
• A to-do list that keeps tasks visible to you
• Visual timers that keep awareness of the passage of time
• Writing an intention for the day and keeping it visible to yourself
• An agreement with a loved one to text or nudge you during the day

Rewards

Rewards make the things we need or want to do more exciting and enjoyable to do.

It’s worth noting that many neurodivergent folks benefit from their rewards being paired with reminders or built into their task, rather than only being provided after meeting a goal, like a carrot dangled on a stick.

Rewards that function as reminders or can be engaged with as part of a task are what I like to call “dynamic rewards.”

Examples of Dynamic Rewards

• Gameified reminder apps like Finch, Focus Noodles, Hatch, and Habitica
• Imaginative timers like Pomodoro Cat or Warm Blanket that create a type of ambience or environment while you work
• A playlist that amps you up while you’re doing something
• Your favorite warm beverage, fizzy drink, or tasty snack
• A fidget or toy to pick up periodically when stressed or needing a moment to think
• Roleplaying a character or scenario while completing a task (like pretending to be an inn keeper when cleaning your kitchen by playing medieval music)
• Choosing the “fun store” for groceries (because it has a cafe, or sells more than just food, etc) rather than the inexpensive and less motivating option

Direction

Direction helps us puzzle through how we’re going to get through our day. This is especially important when you’re in a place of overwhelm, and have a tendency to shut down in the face of complex goals or tasks.

Directions can be instructive (do this thing at this time or in this exact way or order) or suggestive (an intention that can be fulfilled in multiple ways, usually without being time-bound).

Depending on your need for specificity (which is where instruction can be really helpful!) and your level of resistance (which is where suggestion tends to shine), how you set up your directions may vary!

Examples of Instruction

• Visual apps like Routinery that walk you through your tasks or routines step-by-step
• Detailed to-do lists like Magic ToDo that tell you how to do the task rather than just what the task is
• Check-ins with a manager or coach to decide how to prioritize your tasks for the day
• Tools like the Eisenhower Matrix, which help you sort tasks between urgent and important
• Numbering your tasks and rolling dice to decide which task to begin

Examples of Suggestions

• Drawing a tarot or oracle card to shape your intentions
• Watching an inspiring video and choosing one piece of advice to try weaving into your day
• Focusing on how you’d like to feel while you move through your day, rather than what you’d like to accomplish
• Choosing one area of rest that you’ve neglected, and start your day with one small act of care that tends to it
• Highlighting your most important task of the day, and brainstorming 3-5 different supports that will make the task more interesting or engaging

Quick Tip! You may find that combining these approaches, or using different approaches on different days, can be incredibly useful.

🧙🏻‍♂️ Your (optional) side quest: Reflect on which examples above gave you a gut feeling of curiosity or resistance. This is information, too! Are there any patterns you can discern from those emotions?

For example, if you felt resistance to reminders, that may confirm they aren’t useful on their own, at least right now. If you felt excited at the idea of rewards, that’s great — that could be a starting place!

🤝 How to Create Gentle Accountability

Gentle accountability, at its core, isn’t about feeling supervised or pressured into doing something — it’s about feeling emotionally supported and connected while you do it.

Part of that connection, in some cases, will be creating a context in which more immediate feedback happens (so, your following through — or not! — will be seen and noticed, moving the task from a hypothetical to something tangible).

Most people will recognize “body doubling” (or, doing your activity or task alongside another person) as one such strategy for gentle accountability, but there are others as well!

What evokes that feeling for you won’t be the same as somebody else, but I’ve included examples that can be accessed on your own or with other people to help you find what feels most supportive for you.

Examples of Solo Accountability

• Watching a video of a buddy doing the same activity (i.e. body doubling vlogs, like “read with me” “clean with me” — these examples are from my favorite comfort creator, Cozy K!)
• Using apps that mimic having a coach or “body double” (person to work alongside), like The Sukha
• Filming yourself doing the activity, whether you choose to share it later or not
• Recording a voice memo for a friend while you do the activity, naming your intent at the beginning
• Listening to a podcast or audiobook related to the activity (as inspiration and companionship)
• Briefly journaling before and after to set an intention and process any feelings that come up
• Using a pomodoro tracker (my favorite analog option is built into the Productivity Planner by Intelligent Change, and my favorite digital option is Focus Noodles)

Examples of Shared Accountability

• Doing the activity or task alongside someone else in real time (body doubling)
• Joining a community like focused space to regularly work with others
• Having a coach to regularly check in with
• Asking a friend or loved one to nudge you at a later time to see if you’ve made progress
• Requesting your manager have more frequent check-ins with you at work
• Setting a deadline and telling another person that deadline
• Signing up for a class instead of trying to teach yourself
• Joining a book club rather than trying to read on your own

🧙🏻‍♂️ Your (optional) side quest: Choose just one example of gentle accountability that you’d like to try sometime soon when you’re struggling with overwhelm. Look for what feels exciting or sparks curiosity, as well as what feels most approachable in a moment when you’re struggling.

Mix and Match Your Strategies!

Your approach is going to be uniquely your own, and it’ll take time to figure out what works for you in different seasons of your life.

As you start to tinker with your day-to-day routines, I recommend combining different elements of reminders, rewards, direction, and accountability.

If you’re not sure exactly how, many of the ADHD tools that I share combine strategies for you! I’ll include some examples below.

My current supports:

• Reminder + Reward: The Finch self-care app, which is a great system for remembering my care tasks
• Reminder + Direction: The Routinery app is crucial for when I’m struggling with direction and my care tasks aren’t happening
• Reminder + Shared Accountability: The Focused space community is an excellent source of accountability with planning support

🧙🏻‍♂️ Your (optional) side quest: …you thought I was going to instruct you to mix and match strategies, huh? Not so! Instead, I’d invite you to pause, take some deep breaths, and maybe listen to some lofi and stretch or shake your body a little. This is a lot of information, and you have plenty of time to try things later. For now, consider slowing down and soothing any urgency that comes up.

Conclusion: Pulling It All Together

🌊 Look For flow, not force

In my experience, coercing yourself into doing tasks you’re already resisting can signal to your body that it isn’t safe to rest, which can keep you stuck.

If you’re continually stuck in the energy of force, there could be an underlying medical or emotional reason that warrants an outside perspective or more community support.

Please know that if you find that the advice here still isn’t enough, that doesn’t mean that you’re broken or hopeless.

You may need more time.

In fact, almost always, that’s the answer: Being patient with yourself, especially when you don’t want to be. That frustration is a sign that you want more for your life, which means you’re closer to moving out of burnout than you think you are!

An online guide is also limited in what it can do for anyone because it’s being filtered through cognition, whereas burnout is a very body-based experience.

This is why I’m passionate about supporting clients in bridging the body and mind. Please consider trying to access some kind of coaching or other guidance that brings you back into your body if burnout is a repeating and life-diminishing pattern for you!

🧙🏻‍♂️ Your (optional) side quest: Try noticing when you feel resistance in your body, and how that’s different from flow (things that feel exciting, easy, or inherently motivating to do). What are the sensations you tend to have with each?

By noticing, we can create a little more space overtime, so we can decide when we feel resistance if there’s an opportunity to soothe ourselves first or approach it another way, and similarly, when there’s flow, to celebrate that feeling and lean in.

⚓ What If Productivity Weren’t As Important As Being Present?

Listen: The world that we live in, at least here in the West, seems to worship at the altar of productivity, hustle, success.

But what if, as neurodivergent folks, we shifted our goals to be less fixated on accomplishment, and instead, center how we feel and how present we are when we work toward the goals and things that matter to us?

Because at the end of the day, I don’t care if you’re productive. What I do care is how being productive (or not!) makes you feel about yourself and your life.

If the pursuit of productivity and keeping up with everybody else is just making you miserable, maybe it’s time to rethink it altogether.

I hope the tools, reframes, and advice in this article allow you to ditch the idea of somebody else’s productivity, and instead, offers the inspiration needed to build a life that reflects what matters to you, and how you want to feel in your day-to-day.

Because you deserve to feel accommodated, supported, creative, and capable.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and figure out what that looks like for you.

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☑️ Up-to-date! This checkmark means that this content has been reviewed and updated for our relaunch in January 2025. Some reader comments may therefore be out of context.

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